The photography major enables student to develop a critical understanding of how photographic practices shape and reflect our world. It considers the photograph as both a commodity of contemporary culture as well as its distinctive place as an artistic medium and recognizes its vast impact on culture.
Students learn to produce photographic images while thinking critically about visual culture. Students consider the ethics of image capturing and manipulation, and explore image archives to glean the history of contributions to photography, storytelling, and history.
Off-campus photography exhibitions in museums, galleries and site-specific venues and on-campus guest lectures by distinguished photographers contribute to students’ engagement with the field.
Visual Storytellers
Once you become comfortable with the equipment, techniques and elements of the craft, you will explore various genres of photography. You will also be challenged to use the camera to create personally driven documentary and fictive narratives. Beyond creating your own imagery, you will research the extensive history of photography in order to learn and articulate how images gain their strength and power. By learning of the history of photography (artistic, advertising, cultural and vernacular imagery) and image dissemination, you will engage in contextualization of the social and cultural impact of images.
Connections and Collaborations
The medium of photography intersects with many other programs on campus because it examines history, politics, culture and society as it documents the times in which we live. Opportunities for interdisciplinary activity both in the arts (sculpture/installation performance, video and film) as well as creative writing, social justice, psychology, philosophy, education and computer science, are rich with possibilities. Collaborations will be driven by you conceptual interests, which will be guided by faculty in these areas of study.
Course Sequence
First Year
Freshman Arts Division Seminar
Digital Foundations
Photographic Visions
Second Year
Sophomore Arts Division Seminar
History of Art II
Fictive Photography
Basic Lighting Techniques
History of Photography
Documentary Photography
Art Process and Practice (pre-requisite for Portfolio Criticism I)
Third Year
Junior Arts Division Seminar
Contemporary Strategies in Photography
Creative Careers
Installation Art
Tech, Innovation Art
Fourth Year
Senior Arts Division Seminar
Portfolio Criticism I
Portfolio Criticism 2 (Pre-requisite Portfolio Criticism 1)
*Internships are a required part of the photography major.
**See the department for information on electives.